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October 2011 - III Issue

La Lechuza y Brujería

Posted in on 11.30.2011

Aside from the story of La Llorona, La Lechuza is one
of the most popular folktales heard all throughout
Texas and Mexico, particularly in the Chicano and Mexican
communities. Unlike La Llorona, many know the story of
La Lechuza all too well and have claimed to have encountered
this mythical creature. La Lechuza is a large owl–like
bird that some say has the face of an elderly woman. It
torments individuals by whistling while perched directly
outside of their home, flying in front of their vehicles while
driving, scratching at the exterior of their home and banging
on their windows and doors. Legend has it that La
Lechuza is either a bruja/o that shape-shifts into the bird
or is sent by a bruja/o to pay a visit to spite someone they
hold a grudge against. It is said that some people have
gone insane from the torment brought on by La Lechuza.

In a very small South Texas town, population only 306,
everyone knew each other but were not necessarily fond
of each other. Gossip traveled faster than the blink of an
eye. Everyone knew that my Wela was dating Jose who
was only 24 years old, the same age as my mother. Jose’s
mother, Yolanda, was not very thrilled with the fact that
her son was dating my Wela who was 25 years his elder. In
fact, Yolanda despised my Wela because she was dating
her son. Yolanda was known around town to practice
brujería. My Wela mentioned to my mother that whenever
Jose spent the night, they had to sleep with the lights on
because he would hear voices telling him to kill her and
she also mentioned that he reassured her that he would
never do such a thing.

Dusk was setting in and the breeze was gently blowing
on a cool South Texas Winter day. As I sat out on the
wooden porch with my mother, little sister and Wela, we
heard a whistle and noticed an enormous owl-like bird
perched on the telephone pole at the edge of our property.
My mother advised me and my sister not to look
directly at it. My Wela mouthed the word “Lechuza” to my
mother. They rushed me and my sister inside the house,
closed all of the curtains and tried to disregard it the best
they could. Around this time my Wela was encountering
La Lechuza on a daily basis.

We were catching a flight to Houston in the morning
and went to bed early that night. I slept beside my Wela
on a bed of blankets and pillows on the living room floor.
It was around 9:30 p.m. and everyone was asleep in the
house except for my mother, who was finally drifting off
to sleep until she heard a woman singing outside, “la la la
laaa…la la la laaa….la la la laaa”, like something out of a
Nightmare on Elm Street movie. She looked outside and
didn’t see anyone, so she ignored it as she had to get an
early start in the morning.

In the middle of the night my mother was awakened
by a growling noise and thought to herself, “What now?”
She went to the long, dark hallway and turned on the
light. The light shone into the living room only slightly. My
mother noticed that the growling noise was coming from
my Wela who was levitating in mid-air like nothing she had
ever seen before or since. It looked as though something
was pulling her up by her chest. My mother ran into the
living room and frantically yelled “Amá!” and turned on
the light, just then Wela fell to the floor. She sat up and
asked in a state of confusion, “Que esta pasando?” She
had no recollection of what had just happened to her.

My mother looked out the front window, she saw a
shadow of what appeared to be a woman near the trash
cans, by the dirt road in front of the house. Not knowing
what to do, they began to hold hands and pray. Feeling
unsafe and horrified at the events that were taking place,
my mother called her boyfriend who was only walking
distance away, but did not give him an explanation as to
what was happening. As my mother’s boyfriend walked
into the house he told her, “How did you get inside so fast
and why didn’t you wait for me?” My mother was puzzled
and asked him, “What do you mean?” He replied, “I just
saw you out by the trash cans in the road.” Neither my
mother or Wela had been outside. He saw the same figure
in the darkness that my mother did when she peered out
the window.

My Wela was fed up with being tormented by La
Lechuza and whatever brujería that was being done to
her. One day while watching Walter Mercado on Primer
Impacto, he said to drive away La Lechuza and evil
occurences that one would need to put out a lit cigarette
in the middle of a glass of wine.

Walter Mercado was right, when was he ever wrong?
It seemed to have worked because she never saw La
Lechuza again after taking Walter’s advice. Wela continued
dating Jose for a few more months afterwards, but of
course they kept the lights on when they slept, just to be
on the safe side.